


You’re the one I confide in.

by candycosmo



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro, Wizards (2020) - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Flustered Gays, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kissing, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, except with angst, hahahahhah, how the fuck do i tag things, local gays don’t know how to do things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candycosmo/pseuds/candycosmo
Summary: Now with his brother gone, Blinky had no one. That is until he accepted Aaarrrgghh as a friend. Little does he know, the other wants something more.
Relationships: Aaarrrgghh & Deya the Deliverer, Aaarrrgghh/Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal, Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal & Kanjigar, Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal & Vendel, Blinkous “Blinky” Galadrigal & Deya the Deliverer, Draal & Kanjigar (Tales of Arcadia)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 93





	You’re the one I confide in.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So Wizards killed me! Enjoy this gay fluff mixed with angst except I’m not good at either and this fic is just one massive clusterfuck. I wrote most of this at 4AM.

“I would enjoy a companion.” Blinky stated, a bittersweet smile forming on his cheeks.

Aaarrrgghh smiled back at the Conundrum and shook Blinky’s two hands in his, the two small palms fitting nicely in the larger one. The feeling of Blinky’s hands in Aaarrrgghh’s made the Kubera feel a certain heat in his face, and a surge of eagerness flowed through him.

Blinky looked back at the night sky, a tinge of sun beginning to linger through protruding purples and pinks. He thought he would enjoy the solemn silence with his new friend, but instead felt his chin be pulled with two large fingers, and suddenly his eyes were torn from the sunset to the man beside him, Aaarrrgghh pulling Blinky into an unsuspected kiss.

Blinky was in shock back when he let Aaarrrgghh lose from the cave and the troll admitted to liking him, but he would never had guessed that he meant it like _this_ , nevermind to the extreme point of having the desire to kiss him. Yet here they were, their lips meeting each other, Blinky too shocked to even make a twitch of his lips as the other pulled back, a concerned look with him after noticing lack of returning effort.

Aaarrrgghh’s expression only grew into fear as he saw the pure bewilderment painted on his friend’s face. Aaarrrgghh had harboured a crush from Blinky ever since they shared a basket of socks together, and he knew he was already pushing his luck with proposing a friendship with Blinky. But the thrill of Blinky accepting his proposal made Aaarrrgghh want more, wanting to do more daring actions, so with a small trip of overconfidence, Aaarrrgghh kissed Blinky.

Aaarrrgghh suddenly found himself becoming a stuttering mess, a brash contrast from the sudden spike of confidence he gained. Blinky was still staring at Aaarrrgghh, his jaw wide and hanging in astoundment, his mind an onslaught of different thoughts and emotions.

Blinky finally seemed to snap back to the moment, blinking his six eyes one by one quickly before hastily clearing his throat. For someone with such a large vocabulary, Blinky was at a loss for words.

“Um…” Aaarrrgghh suddenly started, Blinky being a bit caught off guard with the other taking the initiative to acknowledge what just happened between them.

“... sorry.” Aaarrrgghh blurted, his ears falling with his gaze.

Blinky perked up at that, worriment taking over him. His thoughts were clouding up his mind, much like they always did, but these ones were more extreme. 

The emotions from his brothers presumed death, the emotions from the battle, now the emotions from Aaarrrgghh’s declaration of love were too overwhelming. Blinky honestly didn’t even know if he liked Aaarrrgghh in a romantic sense, he was never great with determining the meaning of feelings at all. He did feel a certain comfortableness around Aaarrrgghh then he did any other, but Blinky didn’t know if that was exactly _love_. His mind raced with what he should do, how he should respond, Blinky feeling the tension thicken with each second passing.

“Oh, no, no, no! Don’t apologize! It’s just… I don’t think right now is the best time to be discussing this. With everything that has just taken place, I mean.” Blinky admitted, raising his hands in a placating manor to the brute.

Realization dawned on Aaarrrgghh’s face, he seemed to be now aware of how much emotional pressure must’ve been put on Blinky from him doing that. He stopped himself from apologizing to Blinky again, instead he slowly nodded as he felt his cheeks burn up in embarrassment. 

“Hey, what are you two doing over there?” A familiar voice asked from behind them.

Blinky and Aaarrrgghh quickly spun around and saw Deya standing, her hands on her hips as she tilted her head in classic Deya fashion.

The historian turned to his companion, them sharing a look before they both turned back to the now Trollhunter. Blinky stood up and folded his arms behind him.

“Oh, we were just… discussing things.” Blinky explained in a calm tone, Aaarrrgghh surprised at how well Blinky masked his current storm of emotions.

“Wow, you two go from hating each other to stargazing in a matter of a few days?” Deya chuckled, staring at the stars twinkling in the dark sky.

“We weren’t stargazing.” Blinky grumbled, beginning to walk to Deya.

Aaarrrgghh timidly followed the two as they were presumably walking back to Dwoza. Deya chattered mostly to herself during the walk, Blinky not remembering journeying this far out away from the rest. Aaarrrgghh couldn’t help but stare at the now silent Blinky, concern filling his mind. For the short time he knew Blinky, he collected a few attributes he knew about him, and one of those attributes was that when Blinky wasn’t rambling, something was wrong.

“-And that’s when Vendel-... oh, shoot, does Vendel know about the big guy?” Deya asked as she came to a halt.

Blinky and Aaarrrgghh gave Deya a confused look, each tilting their heads in unison. 

“Do you mean Aaarrrgghh? How do you mean Vendel not knowing about him?” Blinky asked.

Deya rolled her eyes before saying, “How you let him out of the cage and he helped our side in the battle, dum dum. I don’t think Vendel saw Aaarrrgghh.”

Blinky stiffened. Great, to add on to the pile, now he had to worry about how Vendel would react to this. Of course Deya would be fine with Aaarrrgghh, her laxed nature made her a very understanding and accepting person, but Vendel wasn’t nearly as forgiving.

The Conundrum gave a tiny laugh of distress, still not moving from his spot. Aaarrrgghh felt the need to step closer to assure Blinky it would be alright, but from what happened Aaarrrgghh felt like that would just make the opposite occur.

“Eh, if he tries anything I’ll go Trollhunter on him.” Deya shrugged while pulling the amulet out of one of her pockets and shaking it in her hand.

Blinky let out a sigh of relief murmuring, “Thank you, Callista.”

“Oh, uh, actually, it’s Deya.” Deya corrected, beginning to walk again.

The two followed as Blinky made a hum of confirmation, not pressing for any more details about the change. Deya began to list possible titles she planned for herself like “Deya the Destroyer” or “Deya the Doom Damsel”, Blinky tuned her out to instead rationally think over about the kiss he shared with the troll behind him.

Oh, right, Aaarrrgghh. Blinky turned to the equally silent troll, only to whip his head back in front of him after he realized Aaarrrgghh was staring at him. Aaarrrgghh also repeated this action, instead deciding it was best to look at the blathering Deya.

“Oh, sweet, they’re still here!” Deya, exclaimed, pumping her first.

In the clearing where the battle had newly finished, there were the trolls of Dwoza. The humans were long departed, Blinky not knowing why they left so soon. The atmosphere was grim and dark, only making itself more apparent when the more boisterous trolls were silent, and some trolls were collecting the pile of rocks that were fallen soldiers.

As the three got closer, they made out multiple trolls (including Vendel) tending to the injured with the best medicine they could offer, quickly giving them back the remaining strength they needed to get back to Dwoza, where they could get properly treated. Few others were crying, presumably from the loss of a loved one (a large number of trolls from their march were missing), some being comforted by other trolls. Blinky hadn’t had time to cry over his brother yet.

When the three approached, the trolls who didn’t see Aaarrrgghh reformed were standing up and preparing to fight, grabbing their weapons and all. Blinky gasped and took a few steps closer to Aaarrrgghh, holding out of his hands to prevent the other from stepping any further to the aggressive bunch.

“Hey, fellas, fellas, don’t be hasty! Aaarrrgghh is here to help us now!” Deya yelled, causing the approaching trolls to reach a still.

A few seconds of silence continued, but soon the large crowd erupted into noise, protesting the Gumm-Gumm general into leaving.

“Deya!” Vendel yelled, demanding silence from the rest of the trolls, “Step away from that beast!”

“As I was saying before,” Deya cut in, planting herself in Vendel’s path to the two, “He is with us now.” She explained, rolling her wrist.

“What do you mean he is ’with us’?! He has been purging our population for centuries now, the last one being not even less then a week ago, how could you expect him to be reformed?” Vendel snapped.

Sudden voices and hollers broke from the crowd, almost all of them either agreeing with Vendel or repeating what he said. Vendel seemed to raise his head in self assurance after the yells of affirmation from the rest.

Deya rolled her eyes and scoffed. Meanwhile, Blinky felt himself curl in on himself, wishing that things would be more silent.

“Because six eyes over there helped him.” Deya said, pointing a thumb to Blinky as she stepped aside.

Oh hey, there’s the silence. Everyone’s eyes were now on Blinky, including Aaarrrgghh’s. Blinky felt the need to say something, _anything_ to the silent crowd, but once again he fell silent. He instead just gave another nervous chuckle.

“Blinkous,” Vendel started, beginning to walk closer to Blinky, Deya failing to stop him. 

Aaarrrgghh puffed out his chest when he felt Vendel was close enough and glared at the old troll. Vendel halted when he saw Aaarrrgghh in his protective position and the old troll gave a small huff.

“Why would you let the Gumm-Gumm out of his cell?” Vendel blankly asked, staring at Blinky.

Blinky bit his lip as he pondered on how to answer. His thoughts were already cluttered from the tension and pressure from how everyone was watching him, preparing to judge whatever he said next, but add to that how Vendel seemed to be towering over Blinky with a furious look on his face, Blinky just said the first words that came to his mind.

“W-well, I wanted him to experience freedom one last time before the battle, back then I thought that this fight would’ve been the end for all of us.” Blinky explained, rubbing his arms with his hands and staring at the ground.

“Blinky gave Aaarrrgghh hope.” Aaarrrgghh remarked, squaring his shoulders and smiling down at the Conundrum in front of him.

“Yeah, you tell ‘em, you two!” Deya yelled, before going to a long speech about hope and what it means.

It seemed the crowd seemed to be losing interest after Deya started her speech, especially after the wounded made a scene with their woes of anguish. Blinky was somewhat relieved that there weren't nearly as many eyes on them, but now Deya was distracted with giving a long lecture to no one.

“And what kind of hope did he entail?” Vendel asked, gripping his staff tighter in his hand, his pupils turning to slits.

“Hope of better people. Nice people, think of others before them. Not like Gunmar and Gumm-Gumms.” Aaarrrgghh admitted, taking a step closer to Vendel, causing Blinky to be pushed along with him.

Well, it was true that Blinky had immediately thought about Aaarrrgghh when the news broke out about the battle happening right then and there. Instead of preparing and gathering weapons and armour like the rest of the trolls, Blinky rushed to Aaarrrgghh’s aid, but Blinky didn’t think that made him a _good person_ by any means.

Vendel seemed to share that opinion as he raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything further he saw the creeping sunlight start to approach the them behind the two. Vendel was clearly thinking things over before sighing and turned around, heaving his staff at the two, signalling them to follow him. Blinky beamed and nudged Aaarrrgghh’s arm, only to look away after Aaarrrgghh turned to him with the sweetest smile. He instead quickly followed Vendel, his small legs having trouble keeping up with the troll’s long strides. Aaarrrgghh effortlessly followed beside Blinky.

“It appears that daylight is almost upon us, we need to head back to Dwoza to prepare for the venture to the new Hearthstone!” Vendel boomed.

Deya stopped her speech midway through a story and laughed, jogging her way up to Blinky and Aaarrrgghh.

Vendel frowned before leading the crowd to where they had originally come from, trying his best to avoid piles of rocks he recognized to be felled companions. Blinky appreciated Deya’s efforts to join them, since if Blinky and Aaarrrgghh were left alone Blinky would’ve felt the need to talk about the kiss, but at the same time…

“Why did you bring attention to me?!” Blinky asked, waving his arms around with anger.

“Hey, I didn’t think Vendel would go full angry goat man on you!” Deya defended, “Look, I’m sorry, okay? It’s not like I wanted the entire Dwoza population to suddenly think you’re the most interesting troll in the world.”

Blinky grumbled a few not-so-kind phrases as he turned, crossing his arms like a child pouting. Deya turned to Aaarrrgghh with a can-you-believe-this-guy look on her face but was surprised when she saw an equally annoyed expression on his face too.

“Ugh, jeez, I already admitted I messed up, what more do you want from me?” Deya asked.

“Well Calli- Deya, I was already an outcast from the rest of the trolls. Now that you brought so much negative attention to me that’ll only worsen it!” Blinky yelled, careful not to raise his voice to such a volume to draw the attention of the group once again.

“Hey, I was an outcast too, y’know! At least you have your brother!” Deya responded, pointing a finger at Blinky.

Blinky fell silent at those words and stopped walking, Aaarrrgghh almost bumping into him. Blinky felt anger bubbling in his chest, but it was soon replaced with a wave of sorrow. He furiously wiped the tears starting to form as he began to walk again, now a march more than anything.

Deya gasped as she put two and two together and she turned to Aaarrrgghh. The troll gave her a nod, knowing what she was thinking. Deya ran up to Blinky and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, Blinky. I’m really sorry- I didn’t know-”

“It’s fine.” Blinky snapped, brushing her hand off of him, “I’m _fine_.” Blinky sighed, unable to stop the small quiver in his voice.

Deya tried to reach for Blinky again, but Aaarrrgghh gently pushed her away from the historian. Deya saw the understanding look in Aaarrrgghh’s eyes compared to the annoyed one she had just seen. Something between these two struck her as odd. 

<•><•><•><•><•>

“Blinky?” 

The sudden voice in the dead silent room made the Conundrum gasp and clutch at his chest, the same voice immediately apologizing for scaring him. Blinky turned and saw the owner of the voice, and immediately knew what he was doing there.

Aaarrrgghh stood in the small door frame to the cave that Blinky and Dictatious lived in. Blinky had been packing up the books that were thrown about half-hazardously by his brother (even though there were bookshelves there), who always said he would organize the books later. Now Blinky had that duty, alphabetically sorting his brother’s many books into different boxes, unable to keep himself from feeling misery with each one he picked up, each book sparking another memory of his. 

“Oh, hello there, Aaarrrgghh.” Blinky greeted, hiding his sadness in a cheery tone.

“Blinky okay?” Aaarrrgghh asked, stepping closer into the dimly lit cave, torches hanging on the sides of the walls.

“Oh, yes, whyever would I not be?” Blinky asked, faking a smile as he folded the box labelled ’A-C.’

“Blinky.” Aaarrrgghh sighed, seeming to look through the troll’s facade.

Blinky was surprised that the Kubera had seen through his act so quickly. Other trolls, even his own brother, never seemed to second guess when he was hiding emotions and putting on a happy disposition.

“Now good time?” Aaarrrgghh asked.

Blinky knew what he meant, he wanted to talk about the kiss. Blinky felt his grip on the current book tighten as he was indecisive on whether or not now _was_ a good time. It would distract him from his grieving over his brother, yes, but the distraction wasn’t any less emotionally straining.

“Um… well, if you want to.” Blinky muttered, turning to Aaarrrgghh.

Aaarrrgghh nodded and inhaled, Blinky wondering if Aaarrrgghh had rehearsed what he was going to say.

“Know what I did was wrong, should not have kissed Blinky, sorry.” Aaarrrgghh said.

Blinky turned back to the books he was organizing, thinking over how to respond. He quickly accepted the fact that no matter what he said, this situation would still be incredibly awkward and difficult to be in, so that gave Blinky a tinge of reassurance.

“Well, Aaarrrgghh, I don’t think you need to apologize for what you did. I think that you understand the wrong’s of your actions, which is good. And on the matter of what is implied with the kiss,” Blinky breathed, trying to calm down his now rapidly beating heart, anxiety rising through him.

Blinky was embarrassed about it, but as soon as he returned to his cave Blinky had read all the romance novels he could find in his collection to see how they described what love felt like. He was conflicted about how almost all the descriptions matched up with how he felt for Aaarrrgghh, and right now would be the testimony to see if Blinky would hide his emotions further or confront them head on.

“...I… guess we could… _try_ to see how things play out with us being together.” 

Blinky felt his grip on the book tighten to the point of him almost damaging the hardcover. The silence in the room was deafening, and the Conundrum troll was too scared to look back and see Aaarrrgghh’s reaction.

Aaarrrgghh was expecting Blinky to either scream at him or accept his apology, the ladder either leading to them staying friends or Aaarrrgghh immediately ruining the only positive relationship in his life, but he never even considered the outcome of Blinky accepting his feelings towards him.

Aaarrrgghh was so stunned that he just stood there, a large smile forming on his face. Before he could say anything more, another, more threatening voice boomed, making Blinky jump.

“Blinkous, a word?!” Vendel yelled, luckily from the outside from the cave.

Blinky was sure if Vendel saw Blinky alone with Aaarrrgghh in his cave, he would be twice as angry as he already sounded. Merlin forbid he ever found out Blinky and Aaarrrghh were now a couple.

“Coming!” Blinky shouted back, quickly closing the current box he was filling and turning to the exit of the cave, sparing Aaarrrgghh a small, nervous smile before walking up the stairs.

Blinky walked out to the opening of the streets of Dwoza, Vendel waiting by the entrance of his cave with his arms folded. All of the shops have been packed up, stock replaced with boxes and barrels and the shop’s canopies being hung on the small tables set out. 

“Come with me, Blinkous. I would like to talk to you about this in private.” Vendel demanded as he walked over to his cave, Blinky gulping before following him.

Blinky tried to calm his breathing as it started to heavy. As they walked through the streets Blinky saw how trolls would look at him, look away, then murmur something to someone beside them.

Vendel already had all his belongings in barrels, so the cave felt as empty as ever, giving off an eerie atmosphere that only added to Blinky’s nervousness.

“I think you know what I want to talk about.” Vendel stated, turning to Blinky with a blank expression on his face so Blinky couldn’t tell his current state of emotion.

Blinky swallowed his worry as he said, “I do. Listen, Vendel, you must believe me, Aaarrrgghh can become good.”

“You have only known him for less then a week, how can you determine his motives? What if this is a plan for him to infiltrate our kind?” Vendel argued, his voice steady as he stared down at Blinky.

Blinky wanted to mention the kiss as proof Aaarrrgghh was genuine, but he _very_ quickly decided against it. Instead he balled up his fists as he said, “What could he gain from betraying us? The Gumm-Gumm population is now in the Darklands!”

“Well, Blinkous, we have news that one escaped.” Vendel said as he gripped his staff.

“What could one Gumm-Gumm possi-”

“The Gumm-Gumm was Bular.” Vendel interrupted.

Blinky shoulders lowered, and a spike of fear rushed through him, but Blinky quickly regained himself as he said, “Well what could that mean?”

“It means he could still be working with Bular!” Vendel yelled, pinching the bridge of his nose as he started to lose his temper.

“Well why would he help us during the battle, Vendel? Why would he kill his own?!”

“It could’ve been a rouse to get us to trust him! Gunmar was always perfectly fine with sacrificing large amounts of his armies to get what he wants, he could’ve put Aaarrrgghh up to this!”

“Well then why would he want to befriend me?!”

“Aaarrrgghh could be a spy, Blinkous! And obviously your judgement has been so clouded by-” Vendel had started to yell, but stopped to carry a gentle tone with his next words, “... You are clearly trying to find any bond you can since… since your brother passed.”

Blinky felt his brows furrow and his eyes squint with disdain towards Vendel. Once again, the anger in his chest started to bubble.

“Was it really necessary for you to bring him into this?” Blinky asked, his voice almost a whisper but fury still plain within it.

Vendel stayed silent for a moment, his expression softening. Blinky’s shoulders were tense and he still had a dark look to his eyes.

“... Blinkous, just please don’t trust him too much. Be wary of-”

“Don’t trust him?! It seems you don’t trust me! Vendel, I am well aware of the dangers that come along with forming a bond with him. I am well aware he could be lying, that he could betray us, but just trust me for _once in your life_ and let me find out things before you go throwing accusations! If anything happens then we always have Deya to protect us who, oh yes, you tried to banish for the same reasons as you are listing for Aaarrrgghh!” Blinky screamed, jabbing a finger into Vendel’s chest as the older troll backed up.

Vendel stared in bewilderment at the now out of breath troll in front of him. Blinky leaned away from Vendel, regaining his composure as he folded his arms behind his back again, waiting for Vendel’s response to his outburst.

There were a few more moments of silence before Vendel seemed to have found his voice. “Blinkous, I… alright, if you truly believe he has changed. But I still don’t trust him.”

Blinky sighed, remnants of anger still left within him from Vendel using Blinky’s brother to try to win their argument. The Conundrum turned and left the cave without saying another word, Vendel clasping onto his staff with both hands in worry over the small, naive troll. 

While Blinky was walking back to his cave, he heard shouts ringing from the main area of Dwoza. He was going to ignore it, brushing it off as the usual fight between two brutes over the last piece of food, but gasped and ran to the crowd forming after hearing a name be thrown around.

“What is _he_ doing in Dwoza!?” A troll who Blinky recognized as Draal yelled.

“Hey, man, calm down for a quick second!” Deya exclaimed, raising a protective arm in front of Aaarrrgghh.

“Don't ‘hey man’ me, Callista!” Draal barked, taking a few steps towards the two.

Aaarrrgghh was backed up against the wall, and Deya was apparently trying to stop the other trolls from attacking him. Deya was already bearing her armour, and seemed to be ready to draw daylight if the crowd got too hectic. 

Blinky pushed himself through the gathering until he popped into the small clearing where Deya and Draal were glaring at each other. As soon as he did, he heard yells be thrown at him, a certain phrase a favourite among the horde being ‘Gumm-Gumm tamer’. Blinky ignored the shouts and ran to Aaarrrgghh’s side, the brute seeming to detense after Blinky placed a hand on his arm.

Draal scowled and rolled his eyes at Blinky. Aaarrrgghh squared his shoulders and took on less of a defensive approach now that Blinky was present. 

“Oh, well look what we have here. No, I’m completely trusting of this Gumm-Gumm now that the two outcasts are here to protect him.” Draal teased as he sarcastically shrugged his shoulders.

The crowd boomed with laughter and Deya, unphased by the public reaction, merely scowled at Draal silently. Blinky, on the other hand, felt his cheeks flare up and the fingers laid upon Aaarrrgghh’s stone curl from embarrassment.

Draal, thriving off the attention from the crowd, smugly continued and boomed, “I mean, we already let one Gumm-Gumm in already!” Draal shrugged a shoulder to Deya’s direction.

The crowd laughed again, and Blinky stopped himself from groaning with embarrassment. Deya, however, made a small hum.

“Hm, didn’t know they let entitled pricks in Dwoza too!” Deya spat, a few laughs of shock coming from the trolls, including Blinky. 

It wasn’t even formatted as a joke, it was just a plain insult, but the shock factor was enough to make it comedic.

Draal seemed to have lost his temper at that point as he roared, Deya immediately summoning the sword and pulling it infront of her. Draal seemed to be readying to charge at the three, but was stopped after another troll yanked him by the horns and spun him around.

“Draal, what did you think you’re doing?!” Kanjigar yelled, grabbing Draal’s left horn to pull his head down. “What have I told you about starting public brawls!?”

“Sorry, father…” Draal mumbled.

“Go back to the cave and finish packing up!” Kanjigar sternly ordered, letting go of his son and pointing away from the crowd.

“Yes, father…” Draal responded before shuffling away in shame through the now silent mass.

Kanjigar groaned and shook his head before turning to the three, Deya lowering her sword. The crowd stayed silent, Blinky stepping closer to Aaarrrgghh which prompted a few stray murmurs.

“Deya, I deeply apologize on my son’s behalf for drawing such attention.” Kanjigar suddenly spoke, a genuine apologetic look mixed with that of embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head.

“Oh! No worries, uh, he really didn’t do anything.” Deya responded, her armour disappearing as she left her battle stance.

“But… I think what we are all wondering is, yes, why have you decided to let Aaarrrgghh stay with us?” Kanjigar asked, holding an arm out to the brute.

“As I said before like a million times now, he’s cool.” Deya snarked as she patted Aaarrrgghh on the shoulder, the metal from the shoulder plate emitting a loud clanging noise.

Kanjigar clearly was skeptical of Aaarrrgghh, eyeing the troll up and down before his eyes settled on Blinky who froze up from his attentive gaze. Kanjigar hummed before turning, motioning the crowd to disband and get back to packing up, most of them actually following his orders. 

The usual Dwoza buzzing of talking began again and Deya let out a sigh of relief, leaning an arm against Aaarrrgghh’s.

“That was probably the quietest I’ve seen Dwoza since… ever, actually!” Deya joked, Blinky giving her an unimpressed frown.

“Ah, well, I should probably help some trolls with things. Uh, I’ll be keeping an eye out for you two though, don’t worry!” Deya announced, already waving the two goodbye as she ran off.

Blinky and Aaarrrgghh shared a moment of shared awkward silence before Blinky let go of Aaarrrgghhh’s arm and looked up at him, Aaarrrgghh giving him an all too familiar smile.

“Thanks, Blinky.” Aaarrrgghh said, patting Blinky on the head like he’d done a few times before, Blinky still wincing under the pressure.

“Well, I didn’t do anything, it was Deya who did the talking.” Blinky responded, guiding Aaarrrgghh back to his cave to avoid public eyes staring at them.

“Blinky help.” Aaarrrgghh stated, seeming to be unaware of the gazes settling themselves on them. 

Blinky merely scoffed and waved a dismissive hand towards the other, Aaarrrgghh smiling broader and nudging Blinky’s arm so the Conundrum would look at him.

“What Blinky did still brave.” Aaarrrgghh remarked, tilting his head.

Blinky blinked at the Kubera’s words, his cheeks suddenly warming. Aaarrrgghh turned back to infront of them but Blinky was still staring at the troll, a smile starting to replicate on his features too.

<•><•><•><•><•>

“Oh, and this is my personal collection! Nothing special, really, just the usuals such as ’Trolls Around the World’, ‘Secret Powers from Gemstones, a Guide’, and ‘Goblin and Gnome History’ along with a few personal favourites!” Blinky rambled, holding three different books in his hands and using the last of his four to dig out more books from a box labeled ‘Blinkous’s collection’.

Aaarrrgghh nodded in affirmation, but wasn’t understanding a single word Blinky was saying. Aaarrrgghh made the fatal mistake of asking Blinky about his favourite books, and Blinky almost immediately started a long and thorough explanation on why certain books were the superior but other ones had more heart. The non-fiction books (which there were many) were rated on how helpful and knowledgeable they were, Blinky ranking the ‘A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore’ volumes as the best. 

Even though Aaarrrgghh didn’t understand, it still brought a smile to his face seeing Blinky talk about something so passionately, yet still keep the usual professional Blinky tone to his voice. That was lost, however, when Blinky pulled out a certain book that made him laugh in triumph and run up to Aaarrrgghh who was perched in the opening of the cave.

“This! This is my favourite!” Blinky exclaimed, practically shoving the book in the Kubera’s face. 

Aaarrrgghh gently took the book that Blinky was so _graciously_ offering him. The brute was careful not to damage the book in any way as he looked at the front, a few weird symbols on the front which Aaarrrgghh couldn’t make out. What he did make out however was the small artistic depiction of a man and a woman standing on a cliff’s edge, the man bearing a sword and the other a bow. Aaarrrgghh recognized the trolls to be from the tribe Bedlam. 

Aaarrrgghh looked at the book then at Blinky, confusion plain on his face. Blinky let in a large inhale, which Aaarrrgghh now knew was a telltale sign Blinky was about to go on a rant. 

“This book is just a masterpiece of literature! The book’s author, Krenghan the Keen, obviously had a large set of skills and made an excellent use of his talent and knowledge to make this book absolutely wonderful! With the incredible mixture of a sophisticated, slow-paced atmosphere, contrasted beautifully with certain bold moments of action and daringness sprinkled in, this book is a blend of two vastly different genres done almost to perfection!” Blinky explained, pumping his first set of hands up and down with giddiness, the bottom two gesturing wildly as he spoke.

Aaarrrgghh was taken aback by Blinky’s sudden change from calm but passionate to such an enthusiastic troll he could barely keep himself from yelling his words. Blinky continued to ramble on and on about the book, explaining how it expertly subverted expectations and so on and so forth. After a while Blinky calmed down so he was just pacing back and forth while explaining the strengths of the book, then eventually stopped.

“Oh my, I was probably going on for quite a while wasn't I?” Blinky asked as he placed the book down on the desk the boxes were settled on.

Aaarrrgghh gave Blinky a half lidded look and nodded his head, Blinky nervously chuckling as he twiddled his thumbs.

“I’m incredibly sorry, I just get… excited, is all.” Blinky mumbled.

“It’s okay.” Aaarrrgghh said, patting Blinky on the shoulder, “Like listening to Blinky.”

Blinky smiled up at Aaarrrgghh before continuing to sort the books into the correct boxes, giving Aaarrrgghh brief summaries of what they were about. During the process, Blinky would get incredibly enthusiastic about certain favourites of his, and Aaarrrgghh soon found that Blinky’s taste in books were either incredibly informative history books or extremely sophisticated fantasies.

“Oh! It appears we are finished!” Blinky exclaimed, the desk ridden of any other books.

“What we do now?” Aaarrrgghh asked.

“Well, I presume the other trolls will probably be close to finishing packing up as well. We should probably start loading these boxes into wagons before all of them are at max capacity.” Blinky explained, already heaving two boxes into his arms.

Aaarrrgghh hummed in affirmation before grabbing double the amount of boxes as Blinky, effortlessly carrying them. Blinky, contrarily, was already grunting while carrying the two boxes. For the large, hefty troll that was Aaarrrgghh, it made all the sense for the boxes full of large and thick books to weigh almost nothing to him. For a small troll like Blinky, it would probably be way more demanding of him. 

“Blinky need help?” Aaarrrgghh asked as the two started to walk up the stairs leading to the streets.

Blinky, already having wobbly legs that appeared to be ready to give out at any second, merely scoffed and shook his head. Aaarrrgghh hummed in concern before letting Blinky walk up a few more steps ahead of him, just so that if Blinky fell Aaarrrgghh would be there to catch him.

Right as they exited the cave, Blinky plopped the boxes on the ground and let out a long exhale. The small Conundrum straightened his back, wincing a bit at the popping sound as Aaarrrgghh quickly followed him out.

_“_ Blinky need _help_?” Aaarrrgghh asked again.

“No, no… those books just enervated me is all.” Blinky huffed, already cringing at the feel of a few public stares.

“Enervated? Don’t know word.” Aaarrrgghh said in a curious tone, waiting for Blinky to recover.

“It means to cause someone to become tired or fatigued.” Blinky explained.

Aaarrrgghh’s brows furrowed more in unease for the troll, but Blinky went on to assure him that he was alright before picking up the boxes again.

Blinky and Aaarrrgghh saw Kanjigar and a few other trolls lead everyone to certain wagons, some already seeming to be almost full. Blinky squeaked in surprised as he realized just how little space remained for his books.

“Um, alright. It appears we have less time than I thought. Aaarrrgghh, how many boxes do you think you can carry at once?” Blinky asked, already piling the two boxes he was carrying into Aaarrrgghh’s arms.

“Probably all if try.” Aaarrrgghh said in nonchalance.

Blinky stared at the Kubera for a beat or two in silence before shaking his head and tapping his chin, quickly doing calculations in his mind.

“Alright, I am going to get the remaining boxes, the first few were the heaviest anyway if I am correct about what books were in there.” Blinky stated, already rushing down the steps before Aaarrrgghh could say anymore.

One by one, Blinky came up with all the boxes and stacked them in Aaarrrgghh’s grasp, Blinky carrying the lightest one on his own. He kept apologizing to Aaarrrgghh during this entire process, but the Kubera gave him a simple smile to show the Conundrum he was happy to help. 

“Alright! Let’s go to the wagons!” Blinky proclaimed, turning on his spot with one hand pointed out.

Aaarrrgghh’s smile widened at Blinky’s laugh of success before he took off in the direction, Aaarrrgghh having a bit of trouble with keeping up due to his unfamiliarity with walking upright. Finally, Aaarrrgghh and Blinky began to unload the boxes into the wagon that Kanjigar was apparently overseeing (mostly because he was probably the only troll that would allow them to use their wagon), and Blinky made idle conversation with Kanjigar as he helped Aaarrrgghh unload his boxes.

“You’re lucky you came here when you did, Blinkous. After your boxes are all done I don’t think we can fit anything else on here.” Kanjigar said.

He was right, the wagon was filled with barrels and clothing items, some stray personal objects thrown into the mix. 

“Well, we thank you for letting us use the wagon!” Blinky exclaimed.

Kanjigar made an unreadable expression after Blinky said that. Blinky seemed unaware of Kanjigar’s change of face as he unloaded the last box. Aaarrrgghh, however, narrowed his eyes in speculation at what the look could have meant.

“Do you have an idea when we are going to depart?” Blinky asked.

“Vendel says in a half an hour, the sun is starting to set again so we should be safe.” Kanjigar responded, going back to his usual expression after Blinky turned to him.

Aaarrrgghh could tell that a couple of the trolls behind them were getting antsy, so Aaarrrgghh tapped Blinky on the shoulder (which to Blinky felt more like a blow), which prompted the Conundrum to turn around.

“Should go.” Aaarrrgghh stated, tilting his head towards the other trolls. 

“Oh… uh, well my best farewells to you, Kanjigar!” Blinky bid, waving to the other as he began to walk off.

“And to you, Blinkous.” Kanjigar responded.

<•><•><•><•><•>

The thirty minutes had passed quicker than anyone could have anticipated, and soon everyone found themselves treading along the path that Vendel and Deya were leading them, avoiding the spots where some remaining sunlight still shone through. 

The air around them was thick with ash and debris from the battle, and some trolls were put on edge by the eerie silence of the close night, only being broken by quiet chatters between friends. While the walk was taking place, Vendel explained loudly how there was a ship ready on the shore, a gift from the humans for helping with the war.

When near the boat, the smell of fresh wood mixed with the saltwater of the sea was almost overwhelming to Aaarrrgghh. Trolls were already pulling their crates and bags into the storage space in the bottom of the boat, the wagons being wheeled in by the strongest of trolls up the wooden ramp (Aaarrrgghh could’ve easily done it, but no one was brave enough to ask him). 

After that was done, all the trolls were either in the second level of the ship that had benches for people to sit on, or were on the deck, Blinky and Aaarrrgghh on the ladder.

The boat set sail after an hour or so, when the trolls guiding the boat were sure there was no sunlight in their path. A small celebration for the new world were already starting to form on the lower level, but Aaarrrgghh and Blinky settled on a secluded spot at the end of the boat deck.

Blinky was staring out at the dark sea, silently watching as the waves hit against the sides of the boat, creating a relaxing sound that was joined by the distant cheers of trolls below them. Wind was gently ruffling the Conundrum’s hair, and his eyes were twinkling from the stars above. His blue stone seemed to also be almost glowing from the effect of the bright moon accompanying the stars. Overall, a very pretty view for Aaarrrgghh to appreciate.

One of Blinky’s eyes seemed to notice Aaarrrgghh’s staring, and the Kubera quickly moved his gaze to the ocean, a smile and a small blush forming on his cheeks.

Blinky also smiled and turned back to the ocean, the two enjoying the silence that was shared between them that still spoke so many words. For what was probably the most relaxing situation over the past week or so, Blinky was still a bit tensed from the fact that Aaarrrgghh was right beside him, probably gazing at him again from the corner of his eyes, the same sweet smile that Blinky was now getting used to on his face.

“Blinky?” Aaarrrgghh suddenly spoke.

Blinky immediately turned his full attention to the Kubera.

“Yes, Aaarrrgghh?” Blinky hummed.

“Can I…” Aaarrrgghh started, a sudden surge of timidness overtaking him as he closed his eyes, “Kiss you?”

Aaarrrgghh closed his eyes more, afraid he had just crossed boundaries once again. After a moment or two, Aaarrrgghh felt two hands pull his chin towards the other, and once again their lips connected under the same stars and the same moon.

“Hey, what are you two doing?!” Deya suddenly called out, turning the corner that led to the back of the ship.

Deya saw them before the two could disband, and when Blinky pushed away from Aaarrrgghh and turned to her, he knew it was too late as a large grin almost to her ears was showing.

Uh oh.  


**Author's Note:**

> If enough people want it, I might make this a multi-chapter fic. I’m fine with this being a one shot, but if it does turn into a multi-chapter I’ll explain wtf is going on with Kanjigar, have more Deya (which is always a plus), develop certain arcs for the characters I’m planning, and maybe include Usurna so everyone can beat her as- I mean argue with her???? Idk


End file.
